Saving the Snow Leopard of Afghanistan
Not for the military, but for wildlife organizations that want to track down the most elusive big cat on the planet: The snow leopard of Afghanistan. “This was my Holy Grail for animals I wanted to catch,” he said. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and USAID challenged Smith, a fourth-generation big-cat trapper from Idaho, to capture and collar a snow leopard in Afghanistan in just 20 days. “They’re borderline mythical, legendary,” Smith said. “If you can’t look at a snow leopard and appreciate it for what it is and the terrain it survives in, you’re missing something. ” It’s estimated that only 100 to 200 snow leopards are left in Afghanistan and that only 2,000 are left in the entire world. Poachers target these highly-endangered predators for their pelts and farmers will kill them for attacking their livestock.
Keywords:
snow leopard Afghanistan Nat Geo big cat Smith snow leopard country fourth-generation big-cat trapper elusive big cat wildlife Nat Geo WILD Wildlife Conservation Society trapper John Goodrich team mountainous border region Northeastern Afghanistan snow leopards Holy Grail wildlife organizations Afghan villagers Peter Zahler satellite collar cat s movements highly-endangered predators Wildlife experts tranquilizer dart Hussain Ali Wakhan Corridor entire world farm animals assistant director experienced team data big cats volatile ecosystem humane traps animal s movements exact spot big picture valuable data survive Credit WCS USAID Poachers pelts borderline military planet Idaho lookPeople:
Smith
Overall Sentiment: -0.127805
Relevance: 0.573962
| Sentiment | Quote |
|---|---|
| -0.0374178 | “They’re borderline mythical, legendary,” Smith said. ... |
| 0.121665 | “They’re borderline mythical, legendary,” Smith said. “If you can’t look at a snow leopard and appreciate it for what it is and the terrain it survives in, you’re missing something.” |
| 0 | “Trapping is a game of odds,” Smith said. ... |
| 0 | “Trapping is a game of odds,” Smith said. “We’re trying to predict the exact spot a cat would put his foot.” |
| -0.0609181 | “We feel a responsibility for an animal we’ve collared,” Smith said. ... |
| 0 | “We feel a responsibility for an animal we’ve collared,” Smith said. “We’ve taken some liberties with it, obviously, and we’re justifying that because of what we’re going to gain back in the big picture of conservation.” |
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Disambiguation: PhilosopherReferences:
Peter Zahler
Overall Sentiment: 0.234898
Relevance: 0.228437
| Sentiment | Quote |
|---|---|
| 0.209344 | “If they can’t manage that land… and the wildlife and the resources that are found there, they can’t survive,” said Peter Zahler, ... |
| 0.128965 | “If they can’t manage that land… and the wildlife and the resources that are found there, they can’t survive,” said Peter Zahler, the assistant director of WCS-Asia. “If they can’t survive, you can never have sustainability and stability in a country like Afghanistan.” |
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Hussain Ali
Overall Sentiment: 0.0597073
Relevance: 0.211582
John Goodrich
Overall Sentiment: -0.0440172
Relevance: 0.200275
Disambiguation: Politician | OfficeHolder | U.S.CongresspersonReferences:
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- Aggregate Sentiment is meant to be an indicator of an individual's overall sentiment.
- The Mean is meant to be an indicator of an individual's average comment sentiment.
- The Standard Deviation, when there are enough quotes, will indicate an individual's consistency of sentiment (i.e. a Standard Deviation of 0 would mean they were very consistent in their sentiment and 1 would mean they were very inconsistent).
Note that quote stats are likely to be meaningless beyond the aggregate score due to the tiny sample size. However, they are always provided just in case you find something useful there.
Additional Info:
TelevisionShow: Big Cat Week
Overall Sentiment: 0.0580933
Relevance: 0.31042
Country: Afghanistan
Overall Sentiment: 0.077227
Relevance: 0.91186
Disambiguation: Location | GovernmentalJurisdiction | MilitaryPostReferences:
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Source URL: Saving the Snow Leopard of Afghanistan
Saving the Snow Leopard of Afghanistan
Webpage Provided Keywords:
- afghanistan
- endangered species
- nat geo
- nat geo wild
- radio collar
- snow leopard
- usaid
- wcs
- wildlife conservation society
Webpage Provided Desc:
By TJ WINICK and MARY COMPTON In Afghanistan, one of the most dangerous places in the world, Boone Smith is on a mission. Not for the military, but for wildlife organizations that want to track down the most elusive big cat on the planet: The...
Source URL: Saving the Snow Leopard of Afghanistan
